Partially expandible toy figure



Jul 19, 1951 H, WES TT f 2,559,909

PARTIALLY EXPANDABLE TOY FIGURE Filed May 4, 1949 Fig. 1. 4o 4 Fig.3. 2 5'6 IN V EN TOR.

- Harvey M.wscofi Patented July 10, 1951 UNITED STATES eATn T F PARTIALLY EXPANDIBLE' TOY FIGURE Harvey M. Wescott, South Westport, Mass.

Application May 4, 1949, Serial No; 91,296

2 Claims. 1 The present invention relates to toy figures and, more specifically, to that class of toys which are made to represent female kangaroos, or other marsupial mammals, or the like, carrying a youngster.

One object of the present invention is the pro- .vision of a toy of the character described which which may be made to emit a sound imitating the usual voice of the animal whenever the youngster appears.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a toy of the character described which has no obvious manipulation means; such as handles, levers, or the like, for making the youngster appear or disappear, but which may be actuated by pressing upon a portion of the body of the animal.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a toy of the character described which is simple in construction, light in weight, and inexpensive to manufacture, but which is also of a highly attractive appearance, durable, sturdy, and well adapted to withstand the rough usage to which devices of this type frequently are subjected. With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts herein.- after more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be inade in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred forms of the invention have been shown.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective side view of a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fractional sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fractional sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fractional sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fractional sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing the numeral 2 denotes a hollow body simulating a kangaroo or the like and being made preferably of hard rubber, plastic material, light metal, or of any other suitable stiff material. The body 2 is provided with two large openings 4 and 6. Within the body 2 there is a preferably curved wall- 8 dividing the interior of the body 2 into two compartments one of which is adjacent the opening 4 and is open at its top at 4 and at its bottom, so as to represent a pouch.- Within the compartment which is adjacent the opening 4 there is an-inflatalole member which in the instance shown is made to represent the youngster. It may be made of one piece of soft rubber or of any other suitable expandable material, or its head It! may be made separately and may be secured by means. of past ing, vulcanizi-ng, or the like to. a resilient, tubular member E2. The lower edge portion 14 of the member i9 is secured to the. lower edge portion of the wall 8 and to the inner side of a portion of the body 2'. An additional small wall [6 may be provided in the lower portion of the body 2, and a section of the edge portion l4 of member I 2 may be secured thereto also.

The numeral l8 denotes a resilient hollow member formed asthe tail of a kangaroo which is open at one end and connected with its open end to the opening 6 of the body 2. A non-re turn check valve 28 is provided on the member 18, which allows air to enter into the member l8 but prevents air from escaping therefrom. Said non-return check valve may be of any suitable construction. Preferably it consists of a of cylinders 22 and it which have flange portions '26. and 28. and apertures 3i! and 32 respecz tively and which are extended through a perfo ration in the member [-8. The cylinder 252 has an internal thread whichis screwed upon the external thread of the cylinder 24, and a ball 34 is normally pressedagainst the opening 30 by means of a spring 36'. The. flange portion'zfi is at the outer side of the member l8, while the flange portion 28 is within the member I 8. If the member I8 is being compressed, the opening 30 is closed by the ball 34. While the member I18 is allowed to expand, due to its resiliency, there will be a temporary vacuum within the member l8, which forces the ball 34 away from the opening 30 and causes a compression of the spring 36 as shown in Fig. 5, so that air may pass through opening 30, the cylinder 24 and the opening 32 into the member 18. Thus by alternatingly compressing and releasing the member I8, air is being pumped into the body 2, and the parts l0 and [2 are inflated. Thereby the part 12 will be extended, so that the head It will be forced out of the opening 4, as shown in Fig. 1 in full lines.

A whistle 38 and an air release valve 40 are also provided on the body 2. The whistle 38 will sound as long as there is suflicient air pressure within the body 2 for extending the head beyond the body 2. The whistle 38, or any other suitable sound creating means, may be made to emit a sound imitating the usual voice of the animal, and the intensity of the sound also warns the operator that so much air pressure has been reached within the body 2 that any further pumping may cause a rupture of the member 12.

The air release valve 40 allows air to escape slowly from the body 2, so that the member I2 may contract slowly and the head ll] may move back into the pouch portion of the body 2 without any further manipulation by the operator, until the parts 10 and I2 are in the position indicated by dash-and-dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The whistle 38 (Fig. 4) may consist of a tube 42 having an external thread and a flange portion 44; and a nut 46, screwed upon that portion of the tube 42 which protrudes beyond the outer side of the body 2, may be provided with a membrane 48 whose free end portion is adjacent the mouth of the tube 42. A cap 50, having a vent opening 52, preferably is secured to the nut 45.

The air release valve 48 (Fig. 3) preferably is adjustable, so that the time of deflation of the parts In and I2 may be changed at will. The valve 40 may consist of a tube 54 having an external thread and a flange portion 56 and bei extended through a wall portion of the body 2; a nut 58 at the outer side of the body 2 is screwed upon the tube 54, and a cap 60 having an excentrically located vent opening 62, is screwed upon the outer end portion of the tube 54. If the cap 60 is fully tightened upon the tube 54, no air can pass through the opening 62. If the cap 60 is loosened slightly there will be a distance between the inner side of the cap 60 and the outer extremity of the tube 54, so that air may pass from the tube 54 to and through the opening 62.

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A partially expandable toy figure comprising a stiff hollow body simulating a kangaroo and having an open pouch section whose lower end also is open and terminates into said hollow body, an air pump consisting of a resilient hollow member formed as the tail of a kangaroo and having an open end which terminates into the interior of said hollow body, a non-return check valve being provided on said resilient hollow member, an inflatable member which is formed as a kangaroo youngster having an open portion which is secured to said body about the lower open end of said pouch section so that it may be projected beyond said pouch section and retracted thereinto by squeezing and releasing said resilient hollow member, an air release valve being provided on one portion of said stifi hollow body, and a whistle being provided at another ortion of said body, said air pump being adapted for forcing air into said body and said inflatable member so that the latter will be inflated and will extend beyond said pouch section.

2. A partially expandable toy figure comprising a stiff hollow body provided with two openings which are in spaced relation to each other, a wall within a portion of said body intermediate said openings dividing the interior of said body into open compartments, an air communicating passage connecting said compartments, an air pump consisting of a resilient hollow member formed as a part of the toy figure and open at one end being attached with its open end to one of said openings of said stiff hollow body, a nonreturn check valve being provided on said resilient hollow member, an inflatable member having an open portion which is peripherally secured to said body within the other one of said openings so that it may be projected out of and retracted into a compartment of said body by squeezing and releasing said resilient hollow member, an adjustable air release valve for the air within the body being provided on one portion of said stiff hollow body, and a whistle being provided at another portion of said body, said air pump being adapted for forcing air into said body and said inflatable member.

HARVEY M. WESCOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 494,410 Carpenter Mar. 28, 1893 1,098,303 Steiner et a1 May 26, 1914 1,352,047 Boje Sept. 7, 1920 1,519,436 Brock Dec. 16, 1924 1,567,973 Mendelson Dec. 29, 1925 2,417,157 Duvall Mar. 11, 1947 

